A federal appeals court rejected on Friday a request by US President Donald Trump’s administration to allow it to move forward with stripping temporary legal protections for about 350 000 Venezuelan migrants, exposing them to imminent deportation.

The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals declined to pause a lower-court judge’s March 31 order halting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to terminate the temporary protected status that was granted to some Venezuelans.

A three-judge panel said the Trump administration had not shown it would suffer irreparable harm if the lower court ruling stands pending its appeal.

The move to end Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans is part of Trump’s broader campaign to crack down on immigration and humanitarian programmes he says go beyond the intent of US law.